Plants provide food, oxygen, and shelter. But they also give us magic, a visual poetry, and a sense of wonder. It is this beauty many photographers try to convey within their photos. Sometimes the beauty is subtle. Sometimes it is brazen. The beauty is always there, but it takes time to discover it. Here are some garden photography tips that can help you capture the beauty of gardens.

Don’t shoot at noon

Do not shoot when the sun is high. This is one of the rules of thumb in garden photography. Shooting at noon when the sun is shining fiercely can bleach out your photos, making them too contrasty, with very little visible detail.

So when is the best time to shoot? You can shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon. You can also shoot when the sun’s rays are slanted and more inviting or on overcast days. Taking photos of your garden around this time will yield a photo that shows rich color and detail. In case you want to capture that bright blue sky as background, you should capture your subject with your back to the sun. This is unless you want to achieve a backlit effect.

Use weather elements

You can create dramatic effects in your garden photos by using the elements of the weather. A misty early morning will leave droplets of water on flower petals, leaves, and cobwebs. You can also use garden objects like statues, posts, and fountains to create striking silhouette images at sundown.

The subject matter in garden photography is demanding since plants and flowers have ephemeral beauty, and thus you should capture them at the perfect time and in best weather and light.

Capture other creatures/things

Gardens are not just about flowers, leaves, roots, and twigs. They are also about insects, small birds, and other types of wildlife that wander into the garden. These creatures make a beautiful image. Also consider shooting things like benches, sprinklers, statues, fountains, or gardening tools. They add character to your garden.

Compose your shot carefully

Good composition is key in garden photography. Compose the shot carefully, especially in close-ups. Make sure that there are no off-putting objects (such as debris, discolored leaves, sticks and stakes, etc.) in your shot. But you can always use these distracting objects as your subjects, if you want. You must also avoid patches of plain dirt.